Environmental Advocacy in a Changing West Virginia

By Kasey Russell, WVEC Lobbyist

WVEC Meets with Concord University Students

The week after the 2024 Election, WVEC Vice President Quenton King and I were invited to speak with a political science class at Concord University about WVEC’s work and legislative priorities. The students were very engaged and asked a lot of insightful questions. Several students struggled to understand why WV couldn’t have coal and, simultaneously, develop solar and other alternative energy sources. Some students expressed interest in learning and engaging more fully in the legislative process and plan to visit their legislators at the State Capitol during the session. WVEC welcomes their participation at the Capitol and at Environmental Day on March 17, and encourages students from around the state to voice their environmental perspectives.

Outlook for Environmental Issues this Session

Our current political environment in WV and the country does not look good for core environmental causes. In his State of the State speech, Governor Morrissey underscored the messages he delivered on election night, “West Virginia will show great respect for the long life in front of coal and gas and [will] explore technologies that complement our traditional resources” and promised to “remove a lot of barriers [where the government is in the way].”   

JB McCuskey, our new Attorney General, says, “The biggest priority that we have is ensuring that we allow our natural resource industries to thrive and to make sure that WV’s economy is able to do what it does best, which is provide low-cost energy throughout the country and right here at home.” However, WV’s reliance on fossil fuels has burdened us with the third-highest total electricity costs as a percentage of income in the nation. 

WV Supermajority Expands, Public Hearings Eliminated

In the West Virginia Legislature, Republicans gained one seat in the State Senate and two in the House of Delegates. Now, there are nine Democratic Delegates in the 100-member House and two Democratic Senators in the 34-member Senate, giving the Republicans even more of a supermajority. A Republican Senator was quoted as saying that they (Republicans) won’t even have to listen to the Democrats’ crazy agendas. No matter your party affiliation, this is not a healthy attitude. Bad policies will likely be adopted without open dialogue, transparency, and compromise. 

Unfortunately, advocating for clean air, water, alternative energy sources and other “so-called” environmental issues has become partisan. Many West Virginian Republicans tend to be against policies seen as pro-environment because they are perceived as anti-industry/business. Policies that look like they might cost the extraction industries more money will likely face an uphill battle.  WVEC’s job this session will continue to be providing our elected officials with the absolute best, factual information on all environmental issues, having productive conversations, and finding meaningful common ground. 

Speaker Roger Hanshaw and Senate President Randy Smith have announced their leadership teams. In the first few weeks of the session, Lucia Valentine, who’s returning this year as a WVEC lobbyist, and I will meet with all committee chairs who typically work on environmental issues. Speaker Hanshaw has proposed some interesting changes to the structure and process of House committees, the majority of which we can support.  

Under the newly passed rules, House Resolution 1, the House now operates with six major committees: Education, Energy and Public Works, Finance, Government Organization, Health and Human Resources, and Judiciary, each with several subcommittees. Most of the work on bills takes place during the committee process, with day one dedicated to the bill’s presentation and the taking of testimony. Day two focuses on amendments and discussions before the committee votes on the bill. Our main objection to the new rules is the House of Delegates’ decision to eliminate public hearings. Under the new structure, the public can only address a committee if invited by the chair or through written testimony. Previously, public hearings—available only in the House—provided citizens with a crucial, formal platform to voice support or concerns about pending legislation.

Eliminating this avenue for public participation is a significant loss for transparency and democratic engagement. In response to the elimination of public hearings, WVEC and several organizations held a press conference opposing this move and highlighting the importance of public participation in the legislative process. Read more here. While this change is now in effect, your lobby team remains committed to ensuring legislators hear from their constituents in other ways. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact Kasey at russell.kasey@gmail.com, or Lucia at luciavalentine10@gmail.com. 

Given the overwhelming conservative majority in state and national (President Trump has already signed executive orders attacking alternative energy sources) leadership, our strategy for the upcoming Legislative Session is to increase outreach to the press, keep issues in the public eye via Letters to the Editor or Op-Eds in local papers, expand our social media outreach and presence, and strive to make sure legislators and their staff members have all the facts, including economic repercussions, regarding all environmental issues they are considering. 

Now more than ever, it is important for legislators to hear from their constituents. Look for our action alerts and weekly newsletters starting today, February 15. Advocating for clean water, clean air, public lands, and a diversified energy portfolio has never been more important! Please join us at the Capitol for E-Day on March 17 or any time during the session for a day or a couple of hours. We’d love to see you there!